By Felix Cofie
Private legal practitioner Austin Kwabena Brako-Powers has questioned the National Democratic Congress’ (NDC) commitment to fighting corruption, following calls from within the party to scrap the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP).
According to Lawyer Brako-Powers, it is contradictory for a party that campaigned on the anti-corruption agenda Operation Recover All Loot (ORAL) to be at the forefront of efforts to abolish the OSP. He expressed concern that the Majority Leader, a seasoned lawyer from the governing party, is leading the charge for the scrapping of an institution mandated to combat corruption.
Speaking on GBC’s News Analysis programme Current Agenda, He further argued that the OSP is not as independent as it is often portrayed, noting that the office derives its prosecutorial powers from the Attorney-General’s Department. As such, he maintained that its operational independence is limited.
Despite these concerns, Lawyer Brako-Powers questioned why calls to scrap the OSP are coming predominantly from members of the NDC rather than the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP). He pointed out that officials of the NPP are currently the primary subjects of investigations and prosecutions by the Special Prosecutor, making the NDC’s stance difficult to understand.
According to him, the push to abolish the OSP does not reflect the wishes of the Ghanaian public but rather serves the political interests of the NDC, particularly as a safeguard in the event that the party loses power in the future.
